The Differences in Similarities
by SinisterlyMe
Summary: Seconds away from dying, Naruto feels a longing for something. Thinking that the end was at his doorstep, he didn't expect to wake up in a world where everything he ever wanted was there, but everything was just so different. POSTPONED UNTIL LATER DATE!
1. Chapter 1

The Differences in Similarities

Summary: Seconds away from dying, Naruto feels a longing for something. Thinking that the end was at his doorstep, he didn't expect to wake up in a world where everything he ever wanted was there, but everything was just so different. But to what extent? For better or for worse?

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><p><strong>WARNING<strong>: This will eventually be SasuNaru, but it won't kick in until later when Naruto starts to realize a few things, but might get graphic later so… yeah. (^_-) This is an Alternate Universe story, and I wanted to set down a few details in the story right now so that you won't read into it and then get disappointed because the summary wasn't what it sounded like or something. In the new world, Kushina and Minato will be alive, Naruto will have a sibling who was used as the jinchūriki instead of him, and quite a few events that happened after the Kyuubi attack didn't happen in mine because of the plot. Naruto will still have the same carefree nature, but I hope I get his character right since it's hard to write Naruto now days when he's serious one second, and goofy the next.

**This will be the only self commentary you'll hear from me until the end of the story, so if you want to squeeze juicy details out of me, or request anything you either have to guess review and I'll answer, or find the **_**Hidden Music Note**_** (See profile page for more info).**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto because if I did quite a few things would be different.

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><p>He'd done all he could possibly do. There really wasn't anything left that Naruto Uzumaki hadn't fulfilled. He'd become Hokage a week ago seeing as it would be easier to command an army when you had a title, along with his current reputation. They'd won the war, and defeated everyone who had been resurrected along with the man in the orange mask. Naruto had saved all of his precious people, and also got Sasuke back, even if it was only hours before this very moment. All of his dreams were met, all of his precious people were finally safe, and Konoha could live in peace once again. That warranted as a happy ending, right?<p>

Gasping as he felt the large gashes on his stomach rub against the mud and rocks beneath him, Naruto let out a bitter laugh as he subconsciously searched for the Nine Tail's chakra to heal him. But Naruto's search was in vain as he remembered that the giant demon had been ripped from him not but earlier that morning. Who would have thought that he would miss that menace of a fur ball one day? He vainly wondered if he looked different now, like his possession marks disappearing, or the seal on his stomach no longer painted on his naval. But he felt too tired and weak to check. The tips of his fingers were already turning slightly blue from not only the blood loss, but the cold rain pouring down on him. He doubted that anyone would be able to find him on time, and for some reason that didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He wondered, as he slipped further into a haze, how many times he'd been in that very same position, and willed himself up because of a desire that he longed to reach and touch. Whether it had been to retrieve a friend, to help someone or to save a village, Naruto had always pushed himself back up. But as he lay there, he held no so he could finally rest and join his family and teacher. He knew in his heart that the others were fine and would be fine without him, so he let those worries ease away.

Cold raindrops streaked down the cheek that wasn't plastered to the muddy ground, which mingled in with what may or may not have been a tear. With a smile on his face, he closed his eyes and waited for the end to finally come. He'd always been afraid of the end; fearing that he wouldn't have enough time to finish what he had to do or what he wanted to do. But he knew now that it wasn't really an end, but a new beginning where he would be reunited with his parents, Jiraiya, Asuma and many other friends and comrades that lost their lives for their precious people. Yes, his precious people would be fine without him, he reassured himself again. And they would move on eventually, but as he lied there one the sopping wet ground, he felt a jolt of loneliness spring from deep inside of him. A slight pain in his heart started to spread, and Naruto knew that it had nothing to do with the physical damage inflicted on his body. Naruto felt it again and easily recognized the familiar feeling plaguing his heart. Longing. But what for? He'd done everything that he could! What could there possibly be left to do? He'd saved and given and made his dreams a reality, but still the pull in his heart never went away; not even in his last moments. His thoughts were cut short as another surge of pain rippled like a wave through his body. Taxed mentally, physically and emotionally, Naruto tried not to move even a finger, as it only made the pain even worse. Soon he couldn't even remember where he was or even what he had been thinking seconds before. He only felt numb, and both heavy and weightless. In a moment the feeling past, almost faster than the flap of the blue butterflies that so loved to wonder through Konoha during the spring and summer seasons. The feeling was almost like water, or a soft hum of healing chakra washing over him. He felt white and pure and new like nothing bad had ever happened to him.

Opening his eyes slowly, he looked up to stare at a bright blue sky, and vivid forest green trees and grass. The rain and darkness were nowhere to be seen, and Naruto no longer smelt the metallic odor of blood and chilly raindrops. Naruto sat on his back staring up at the sky, and realizing, for the first time in months, he had no feeling quite light hearted, Naruto looked at the passing clouds to see if he could make out any shapes; a pastime he hadn't had the time to do with Shikamaru since the Pain attack a few months back. Letting his head loll to the side for a moment, Naruto smiled broadly at the multiple shuriken targets posted several places a few yards away from him. _I'm not surprised that my heaven would look a lot like Konoha_. He grinned once again as he stayed sprawled on his back on top of the lush green grass under him. He felt himself sink into a nice comforting peace. All the problems and the fighting… Naruto just let it go, let it roll right off his shoulders because he knew that the hardest part was over. Letting it all in, he let the clarity of the world begin to define his mood because the heart was what really mattered in the end, and his heart hadn't felt this full in a long time. He wanted to stay like this for a few more minutes before he got up to search for his parents in this nirvana. But until then, he just let himself drift.

"Minato the Yellow Flash, Kushina the Red-Hot Habanero and Naruto, Konoha's Orange Hokage." Naruto muttered to himself. He thought it was kind of funny how their nicknames had ended up being like a mix of each other; almost like paints.

But Naruto should have known better to think that trouble would stop finding him because he was practically a magnet for those things. The smile that once graced his tanned face was practically knocked right off as a blob of green and yellow appeared out of the corner of his eye and an elbow slammed into him. Practically having a heart attack, Naruto lashed out like a fox caught on the other end of a trap. His fist smashed into the unknown person's stomach, and sent the figure sliding back ten feet.

"NARUTO! Mom, Naruto hit me for no reason! All I was trying to do was say hello!"

Naruto was practically dizzy with confusion as he watched the blonde girl glare at him and stick her tongue out at him before turning to face a woman appearing out of the foliage. Naruto couldn't make out any sounds as his heart jumped in his throat. He'd only seen his mother once in the depths of his mind during his training with Killer Bee but the red hair, and beautiful purplish blue eyes were unmistakable. He could see her mouth moving, but he all but blocked it out in shock. That happened quite a bit with him since the beginning if the war. Kakashi had said that it was his way of coping with all the stress that was going on around him; to almost block it all out until it was all straightened out. He reared back in shock as the girl from before appeared in front of him and waved her hand in front of his face in a mocking manner.

"Nii-san, we know you're empty headed but you should at least pay attention!"

_Nii-san?_ And with that comment echoing through his mind, Naruto's eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious with shock.

When he finally woke up, it was in a large room on a soft bed. Smacking himself in the face several times, Naruto rubbed the back of his head in confusion; a habit he accidently picked up from Iruka. "I am dead right?"

"Baka! Why the hell would you be dead? You're not going suicidal on me because you can't even beat your sister in a fight?" The blonde haired girl scoffed, which unfortunately reminded Naruto of his least favorite part of Sasuke; a still very sensitive subject despite the Uchiha's delicate alliance with them at the end. Naruto had allowed Sasuke to speak to him for so long like that because he knew that the older boy had almost been teasing when he had said it to him, but the comments had become quite painful when Sasuke had started to mean it after the fight on top of the hospital building so many years ago. Naruto had tried his best to control his emotions, but even as Naruto had matured since the start and end of the war, Naruto was still Naruto, and didn't take shit from anyone… "The fucking hell? What gives you the right to speak to me like that? Maybe if you got that stick from far up your fat ass you would see that I could probably beat you into the ground in seconds, even if you _are_ a girl!"

The girl fell back in shock and looked at Naruto almost as if he'd sprouted two heads and three tails. At that point Naruto finally got a really good look at the girl. She had long blonde hair tied up in two high pigtails, and slanted dark purple eyes. In no way was the girl lacking in curves, and Naruto was sure that Ino and Sakura would have been really jealous of some of the other 'features' this girl had. She was absolutely stunning, but Naruto, as usual, was as oblivious to that kind of stuff. Moments later, he heard footsteps making their way closer to them from somewhere below them, and he slipped out of bed at the same time.

"Nanami, Naruto are you both okay? I heard yelling, what's going on up here?"

Naruto was once again thrown into another loop as he caught sight of the familiar blonde hair and tall frame. The fourth Hokage, the Yondaime, the Yellow Flash, his FATHER was standing only a few feet away staring at him like they'd just talked that morning.

"Naruto, you really shouldn't hit your sister for now reason, but that doesn't matter now. Are you feeling alright son. You might have gotten chakra exhaustion from training so you should stay in bed so you don't make it worse."

Quite truthfully, Naruto had expected their next meeting to be completely different. Naruto had thought about it more than once and what it would be like seeing his father again. He would have bet a lifetime supply of ramen that his newly discovered father would have given him a huge proud smile, and given him a bone crushing hug while whispering some heartwarming phrase. But in all truth, Naruto was scared. Scared of what? Well he was just really frustrated and confused and really didn't know how to react to all of this. He wanted to say something, and he felt the words trying to push past his teeth, but all that came out was a strange whiny grunt like sigh. He hadn't even taken in his father's full form before he had practically leaped for the window his eyes had seen opposite to the door entrance they were standing under. He didn't even bother to open it as he crashed through the glass and down to the ground below. He sprinted blindly, and at that point he didn't care what direction. He just needed time to figure out what was going on alone. Running away really wasn't his style since practically birth, but Naruto couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. This wasn't how it was supposed to be!

Naruto's heart was pounding in his ears by the time he slowed down to a halt in front of the academy. He'd almost always gone to the swing set, the top of the Hokage monument or a bench in Konoha Park when he was confused or needed to think things through. As he plopped down on the old wooden swing set, he looked down at his feet, and for the first time noticed what he was wearing. He almost slipped off the swing in shock at the sight of the blacks and blues he was adorning. The lack of orange was _definitely_ a sign that something was wrong. There were only a few times he hadn't worn orange and that was either because of a funeral, the white robe he wore to hot springs and other unavoidable situations that restricted him from wearing his usual orange and black jacket.

Raising his hand to his face, he could slightly feel the familiar smooth lines of his whisker marks. People made the common mistake that he had gotten then when the Kyuubi was sealed in him, but from what Kushina had told him in the depths of his mind, he was born with them from the demon fox chakra swimming in her chakra coils. He was honestly relieved that coming to this… place didn't change that. He used to hate them when he was younger, but he soon came to grow fond of them. Plus he remembered someone had told him once that they were quite cute; though he really didn't recall who exactly had said it.

Shifting uneasily in his clothes he stood up, and briskly walked towards one of the academy windows to look at his reflection. Naruto practically face faulted at the snobbish and clearly _'Ebisu'_ish kind of style he was wearing. He almost gagged at the sight! His hair was brushed down neatly on top of his head, and held down with a black bandana he hadn't noticed had been there before. His shirt was tucked into his pants, and looked as if he had bought it at a store a grandfather would shop in. He flushed furiously at his image. Sure the orange jumpsuit he had worn was far from the most attractive article of clothing, but he'd rather wear that than look like a dork. Whatever, wherever and whoever he was supposed to be wasn't what he expected. He could hardly recognize himself, and if made him feel even worse than before. Not being able to stand it any longer, Naruto ripped the bandana off, messed up his hair, zipped down the green shinobi jacket and ripped of the shirt he was wearing. Tugging at his clothes here and there, he slipped on the green flak jacket again and left his only partly zipped up. He would have to find something orange later or something, but this would do for now. Feeling slightly better at the familiar untamed appearance he usually wore, Naruto winked at himself in the window reflection, he slapped on his usual devilish grin, and tucked his hands into his pocket.

_At least 'dead me' had some sense in wearing a cool looking undershirt._ But that's what was kind of bothering him. If he was really dead, than wouldn't he be the same as he was when he died… well minus the cuts on his body that made him look like chopped pork for ramen. He stood there for a long time thinking about what he needed to do, but Naruto couldn't think of anything. Maybe the best plan would to have no plan at all, and to go with the flow. He had always done it like that, and it had a ninety five percent success rate. He would worry about something when it came, but for now he would just live _(die?) _on. Exiting the Academy grounds, he entered the main part of Konoha and weaved through the streets towards Ichiraku's. He really needed a pick me up, and ramen was the perfect medication for anything. On his way there, Naruto bumped into a few people, but paid no mind to it seeing as it happened to everyone every day. But if Naruto had looked back, he would have noticed quite a few people staring at him. He would have also heard what they were whispering about, but seeing as he had been whispered and stared at all his life, he subconsciously blocked it out. Parting the cloth that hung over the front of the Ramen stand, Naruto plopped down and sat slouched in his chair.

"Old man, a bowl of miso ramen please!"

Naruto grinned towards Teuchi who looked almost shocked to see him. Then his face lit up before he turned to continue working on another costumers order.

"Naruto! Huh, you look different. I have to honestly admit, I didn't recognize you for a moment there if it wasn't for the marks on your face. I'm really surprised you're back so soon. After that fight you had with your sister, Nanami, I was sure that you'd stay clear of any of her usually hang out spots for a while"

Although Naruto wasn't the smartest person in the world, he saw an opportunity when it practically waved a bright red flag in his face. Fiddling with one chopstick that was left behind by a customer who had probably sat there before him, Naruto tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. "So what was your opinion? Who was right?"

He stared at Naruto once again in surprise at the almost childish comment. It had been over ten years since Naruto sounded this… loose? Almost carefree? After all, it was hard having a sister that was practically worshipped in the village, and Naruto's wasn't that good of a shinobi.

"You know I don't like taking sides, but I do have to admit that Nanami crossed the line this time. It's true that as a jinchūriki she would have more… what do you ninja call it? Chakra? But that doesn't mean you don't work hard. Just know this Naruto, even if you stayed a Chunin, no one would love you any less."

At this point, Naruto was practically squirming in his seat. That made no sense at all! Naruto could easily tell by the strength in his body, and the amount of chakra swimming under his skin, he had enough to go into Sage Mode for quite a while. _Yeah, but it does feel like it is being repressed._ Being a demon vessel made Naruto very aware of his body's condition, and he could tell that his energy wasn't being repressed unnaturally like with a seal. It was almost like his body was so used to concealing it that his body did it automatically. But the real question was why? Was there something to hide or was this Naruto just not confident to stand up for himself. As he grew up, Naruto had taken every opportunity to show off what skills he had, and wasn't afraid to whip out a Rasengan when he had to. But then again, when you had a rival like Sasuke, and friends like the Rookie Eleven, it was hard not to. Talent practically oozed out of them like lava out of an active volcano.

Teuchi recognizing him had definitely eliminated one of his theories about where he was. The_ 'I went back in time like on that mission to Roran' _flew out the window quicker than a kunai_._ Everyone recognized him and Teuchi was the same age he was when he left Konoha only a few hours before to finish the war. So why were his parents alive and why did he apparently have a sister that was hosting the Nine Tailed Fox? Was this some kind of sick manifestation of his mind as his body and brain functions withered away? No, it all felt too real for that. He'd been in a lot of Genjutsu illusions before and the only one that caused you to actually physically feel what wasn't there couldn't be performed now. That technique had died with Itachi Uchiha, and not even Sasuke could fully control it to the point where he could make such an elaborate world and keep it unbroken while a shinobi of Naruto's rank wondered inside of it. So maybe he was reborn in the past or something, and is just recently remembering his past self. But that didn't make sense because then he would have had two sets of memories and not just one. Naruto whined in frustration and ran his hands wildly through his hair as a headache started to raise its ugly head. A large pout appeared on his face as he softly kicked the back of his heels on the edge of the chair.

"Naruto? I thought you were taking the exam today. You know the IEE one?"

Naruto spun around in his seat to look at the person addressing him, and his mouth dropped in shock. In no way did he recognize this person, but last time he checked people weren't wearing shirts with an Uchiha fan symbol largely pinned to their shirt. The man was standing half way in Ichiraku's, looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties and had dark hair, a broad nose, and dark hair messily situated on the top of his head. Naruto almost shrunk back as the man's face when it went from curious to extremely annoyed in only a few seconds.

"Oh no. No no no. I don't care how much this village loves Nanami Uzumaki Namikaze; I won't let her nasty habits start to rub off on you, too. Teuchi-san I apologize, but Naruto has to leave now."

Teuchi bowed politely and with a wave continued with his work. "Have a nice day, Shisui-san."

Naruto let the Uchiha lead him away, entirely uncomfortable with the hand that was pushing him forward as it lay on his upper back. The last time an Uchiha touched that area was when he had a hand punch right through him, even if it was from the other direction. Taking a deep breath, Naruto willed himself to calm down and let the not-so-dead Uchiha direct him to Kami knows where. So this person, Shisui knew him in some way, they were taking some exam, and the world finally went topsy turvy. Naruto would have been demanding to know what was happening, but his gut feeling told him to stay quiet and go with the flow. And Naruto almost always listened to his instincts over his brain. But back to the name… Shisui, Shisui, Shisui. It was strange because he swore he recognized the name from somewhere, but he couldn't even recall from where. Oh wait, he remembered now. This was Itachi's best friend who was drowned in the river so that Itachi could gain the Mangekyō Sharingan. Till this day, Naruto didn't know the full details of Itachi's sacrifice and how it all went down, but Shisui wasn't acting like a stuck up ass, so for the moment, he was fine in Naruto's book.

"Naruto are you okay? You don't look too good."

"I'm fine. I guess I just trained a little too much this morning and I'm a little tired."

Shisui looked up and peered at the sunny mop of hair that seemed to not be concealed by its usual black bandana. For as long as Shisui could remember, Naruto had always covered his hair saying that it was too much trouble on the battle field. In fact, there was a lot off about the Hokage's son today. Naruto had an almost messy wilderness like appearance to him; much like Hatake-taichou did. He had a slight bounce in his step that was nonexistent before, and if Shisui was sure that he could see the smaller boy's lip twitch up a little bit almost like a half attempt for a smile. No, Shisui was well informed in the Konoha gossip traffic flow seeing as he had been stuck on desk duty for two weeks three months ago and had been a comrade to him for a while; Naruto hadn't smiled or shown obvious happy emotion since he was eight years old. If Shisui didn't know any better, he would have thought that Naruto was part Uchiha.

"Naruto are you feeling alright? You're acting… different."

"Am I really? Well how do I usually act?"

Shisui opened the door to the examination building with Naruto walking next to him, but at that comment he almost tripped in shock. Activating his eyes he checked Naruto up and down before deactivating them again. "I don't know whether to be happy for this new change of openness or worried that you aren't an imposter. First off, you would have usually gotten really defensive over the last question like how Tsunade-hime does when you ask why she drinks so much. Speaking of drinking, did you get drunk practicing for today's examination?"

"NO! I hardly ever get drunk!" Naruto quipped.

"You don't drink! And you would have said it like '_I don't consume alcoholic beverages' _or something equally as tedious to say out loud_._"

Naruto was generally surprised about the amount of care this Uchiha, Shisui, was showing. After only knowing Sasuke, Itachi etc. it was strange to see that amount of concern coming from a dark haired Sharingan wielding person.

Naruto was about to answer back, but was interrupted when a group of shinobi rushed by yelling about being late. Taking a quick look at each other, Naruto and Shisui jogged side by side for a bit right behind the other ninja, and a minute later, they all stepped into a darkly lit room. Sniffing the air, Naruto could smell the distinct odor of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Naruto was about to ask what exactly they were going to do, but his attention was snagged elsewhere when he heard the mention of his name. The curious blonde leaned his head slightly to the direction that he could hear the voices, and tried to listen in to the conversation. Glancing back once before pretending it was just to see if anyone was coming through the door, Naruto saw the two men who were talking. One of them he knew was definitely a Hyuuga, but Naruto wasn't sure who the other one was. The blonde haired fishcake just guessed that the other person didn't come from a clan, and was either a teammate or a friend of the Hyuuga because a Hyuuga never talked willingly to just any stranger shinobi.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze? No, as much as I want to say he'll do well you haven't seen him in action. He's got the brain power to rival a Nara, but he's as stiff as a board on the field. He's got all the techniques down and could explain it better than any book, but he moves and fights like chopsticks… only slightly sharp and really stiff. His chakra levels aren't too good either, which is surprising seeing as who his parents are."

"Man that's too bad. He must feel really bad being the odd ball of the family. His sister is a nasty piece of work though. She wouldn't do well with infiltration, but it wouldn't matter because she could probably punch a crater into the ground in a few more years."

Naruto slouched lower and lower as he continued to listen to the two males talking. He hated being underestimated, and he hated that the years of respect and hard work he'd put in to get rid of those kinds of beliefs were washed away the moment he stepped into this… new world. So maybe he was in some kind of… alternate life? There were scrolls on that in the library section deep within a waterfall cave at Mount Myōboku, but there wasn't anything on how it was done or if it was even just a theory. _Maybe not so much of a theory if what I'm guessing this is, is true._ And it wasn't that farfetched either. He had a demon inside him for almost seventeen years, talked to his parents inside his head, gone to the past, saved the world and had been able to become the living heir of the Sage of the Six Paths before he even stopped growing. This was definitely not something to be too surprised at. But the question _now_ was what was he supposed to do? Was he sent here for some higher purpose or just because he probably died in his own previous life. He rubbed at his hair in his usual frustrated manner which drew a curious stare from Shisui and a few others. Hearing a bang from behind him, he watched as a group of shinobi in long black robes strutted into the room. From there they dived right into business.

"Alright, seeing as we all have important things to do today, I'm sure, let's make this experience fast and relatively painless."

They were led through a door connected to the room they were in, and if Naruto had been blindfolded, he truthfully admitted to himself that he would have never guessed that the two rooms were in the same building. The new room decorated in a rather well done copy of a real club/bar. They even had the alcohol there to add in the extra touch. In all truth, Naruto was actually really excited to do whatever he was going to do. He always loved a challenge, and he was determined to prove those two guys wrong. Whoever the previous Naruto was, was no more because he wasn't going to hide his talents if he was going to be stuck here for who knows how long. And it wasn't like anyone was going to kill him over an improvement of talent, right?

Naruto snapped back to attention when one of the men in the long black coats started to speak. "The rules are simple. We will hand you a scroll, you will read the directions and when the time runs out than everyone is required to disperse around Konoha to… well you'll find out."

In a puff of smoke, black curtains surrounded Naruto as a chair and a scroll lying harmlessly on top of it appeared in front of him. "When the first bell rings the scroll will unlock, and you will have ten minutes to prepare. When the second bell rings, you start your assignment… Begin."

Naruto picked up the scroll as it started to unravel in his grip. Holding it up to the light so he could read it, Naruto half wondered if this kind of test was given to ninja back in his other life. Shaking his head and willing himself to concentrate, Naruto let his eyes read each line.

_Welcome to the IEE (Infiltration and Espionage Exam). Your assignment is as follows:_

_You have been sent by the Hokage to go under a Henge or disguise and enter a club where I high class missing Nin (A) spends his nights. You have no idea what he looks like seeing as the report only had information on his fighting Statistics. The report said that (A) only has one partner (B), and your job is to get the missing Nin to give you a clue of where (B) is and a password, so that you may be able to find him. The missing Nin's partner is holding a sacred scroll with him and is currently in hiding, so the only link to (B) is from (A) whom is your first target of the 'night'._

_In part I of the exam, you are required to Henge under one of the three images below. Everyone participating in the exam will have on a different Henge, including both your fellow comrades and your proctors. In the time allotted, you are also required to drink at least one fourth of a bottle of any alcoholic drink of your choice. After getting the information, you immediately go to receive the graduation scroll from the second missing Nin (B). We will be watching so points will be deducted for mistakes that could get you killed in a real mission. If you lose too many points, but still get a scroll, there is a chance that you may not pass. Once again, please look at one of the three identities below, and when the bell rings, enter when the timer rings at your allotted point in time._

Naruto was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. This sounded like so much fun, _and _it sounded easy enough. Sure, living through a war would definitely help with the information collecting part, but the espionage thing was right up his alley. He didn't train with Jiraiya and just learn how to master Rasengan and chakra control. Whether it was unintentional or not, Jiraiya's 'research collecting' had taught Naruto valuable lessons about making people talk without them knowing it, and staying in his sexy Jutsu for hours on end. Even without the Kyuubi inside of him, Naruto naturally had unusually large chakra reserves because of his mother's bloodline, and also because… well he was Naruto. He could feel the amount of chakra running through his veins at that moment and knew without a doubt that he would have the opportunity to try things he didn't before. Smiling, he excitedly peered down at the three picture identity choices on the bottom of the scroll. There was a picture of two males and one female. The proctors probably already assumed that most of the guys, if not all, would perform much better henged as males. They'd most certainly expect the 'previous' Naruto to disguise himself as a guy because from what he had heard from the minute he opened his eyes to this world, this Naruto was as awkward as possible. To top it all off, the Sexy Jutsu (which was his own design) had been an impenetrable Genjutsu which not even the Sharingan could see through.

"Funny how the best things that happened to me where pretty much always on accident." Naruto thought to himself as he turned into the female choice. The picture was really easy to imitate and inspecting himself, he laughed at how surprised they would be if they ever found out it was him. He now had long silky black hair, and olive brown colored eyes. His figure was curvy and a little busty, but nothing like his usual Sexy Jutsu appearance. Nodding his head in approval, Naruto sat back down in the chair and waited. He listened as the first bell rang out, which was followed by several more every fifteen seconds. After the sixth interval, Naruto straightened the dress, took a deep breath, and got into character. "Let the games begin…"

Swishing out of the black curtained stall, Naruto noticed that there were people already in the drinking area, and people walking out the same time he was. There was a difference in time of when a group of people came out, and it probably depended on rank or age. The lower of the two would have more time as they had less experience, while the higher of the two would get, at the most, three minutes shaved off their investigation time. It didn't sound like much, but for most shinobi, it meant the difference between failing and succeeding. Swaying his hips, Naruto entered the stage bar, and loudly sat down. From what he could remember from his experience from the Chunin Exams, the proctors would be acting a lot more naturally in this kind of environment. If he could fool people into thinking he was a proctor, then maybe it would he would be able to find the 'Missing Nin' sooner.

"One sake. Just give me the bottle and I'll me a happy little girl!"

Catching the bottle and glass deftly in his hands as it was slid his way, Naruto uncorked it, took a swing and laughed loudly. Looking at the man beside him, Naruto got a funny idea. Giving one of his devilish smiles, he leaned in closer to the man, and blew into his ear. Just as Naruto suspected, the man practically shrieked in fright, and for a split second the Henge faltered. It was obviously not a proctor, and Naruto felt a little bad for probably making the guy fail moments after the exam started, but Naruto had to pass somehow and that wasn't by letting someone else win. Scanning the room with his eyes, Naruto moved around the room with ease; the Sake bottle firmly held in his now manicured fingers. He could tell on the looks of the peoples' faces who proctors and who were not. When someone looked impressed with his act or even tense, it was a proctor, but when the person looked weary or frustrated, it was one of his fellow testers. Now don't misunderstand. It wasn't like all the Shinobi were open books or wore their hearts on their sleeves, it was just Naruto. It had to honestly say that that was one of his favorite things about himself. He could tell how people were feeling even with a fortress of self defense practically separating them. That was probably why he was so good with a lot of the unemotional or tightlipped people and ninja he had encountered. And he hadn't noticed that until way later in life. It was just natural to him, and Naruto absolutely loved it. Giggling to himself, Naruto noticed that twelve minutes had passed. Naruto had eliminated more than three fourths of the room and was coming down to only a handful of the other henged shinobi now. The last few were giving him quite a bit of trouble, so Naruto just leaned against a table of a particularly loud male sitting with two other henged people Naruto had eliminated. The two people looked quite annoyed and wasted no more time in getting away to continue their 'mission'. Naruto took this opportunity to sit down next to the smiling man, and set his bottle of sake down.

"You're not too good with people, are you?"

The man rose one eyebrow before smiling, and before the man even opened his mouth, Naruto knew that he had found his person. Heck, Naruto could tell that the man knew that Naruto knew that he was the 'missing nin'.

"No, I guess I'm not, though sometimes it's not always the people around you who define you, but yourself, yeah?"

"Huh. Well than, I'm Mitsuketa and I live not too far from here."

"I'm Haishin. I used to be an elite ninja, but I quit."

"You don't say. Well as much as I'd love to say, I've got places to be and people to meet. Bye."

Naruto smiled as he saw 'Haishin' gave a nod of approval his way. Naruto swelled with pride and happiness at the silent praise. It wasn't that hard to find out what the proctor was telling him in between the lines. 'Haishin' roughly translates to betrayal, so that was probably the password. As for where the second point would be, the proctor had said that 'he used to be an elite ninja' and anybody with a headband knew that Jounin were elite ninja, so why not the next place be the Jounin lounge! Naruto hadn't had this much fun in a very long time. In fact it reminded him of the good old days when he would prank the village and paint all over the walls, fences or monuments in the vicinity. Finding who the Missing Nin was was surprisingly simple. Everyone else was still inside the room trying to squeeze information out of each other, and Naruto had snuck out twenty minutes into the exam with what he needed. He vaguely wondered if one of the few he hadn't interrogated was Shisui seeing as Naruto assumed that most Uchiha's were absolute experts with illusions etc. In a real situation, he would have helped his friend, but this was an exam, and Naruto was practically giddy with the thought that he might be able to pass a test without interference from a vengeful teacher, an attacking village, or away for three year for training. Entering the circular meeting place, there were a handful or Jounin inside, and he was happy to see none other than Kurenai Yuhi sitting behind a desk stacked with scrolls. Bouncing over, Naruto muttered the password and waited expectantly. For a moment, Naruto was afraid that something strange and disruptive was going to happen as per usual, but a grin practically ripped his face in half when Kurenai handed him the scroll without a catch.

"Congratulations! You are the first person to finish the IIE exam today, and if I'm not mistaken, you might have set a record or at least gotten close to one. Your score and your comrades' scores will be posted inside the mission room on the information wall in a few hours. Until then enjoy your day!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head while walking out. "Wow, that didn't take long at all!"

Releasing the Henge over himself, he tucked the scroll into a bag on his hip, and turned a corner only to bump into another body. Closing his eyes when he felt himself falling, (why do his super cool ninja skills only kick in on the battle field?) Naruto braced for the hard impact with the floor, but was met with none when a hand clasped around his wrist. Not fully registering what was going on, Naruto lashed out. "Watch where you're going, TEME!"

"I could say the same for you, dobe."

His mind finally kicking in at the familiar nickname, Naruto blinked twice before actually looking up to see who had bumped into him. Naruto's mouth fell open as his cerulean sky colored eyes peered up at the pale face of none other than Sasuke Uchiha. He wasn't even paying attention as Sasuke's eyes furrowed in confusion, and his mouth started moving to form what Naruto would later assume to be a question. But at that point, all Naruto could see was the Konoha headband back on Sasuke's forehead for the first time in almost five years.

"Uzumaki-san? I apologize. I did not recognize you at first."

"Naruto rose an eyebrow at the apology seeing as the Sasuke he knew never would have.

"It's all right. It was partly m…"

Neither noticed as a sprinting shinobi came out of practically nowhere and pushed Naruto forward into a very familiar and very embarrassing situation. Someone really loved messing with him up above. _Maybe this world isn't as different as I first thought…_

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><p><em>I hope you enjoyed and continue to read my story!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Warning: I'm going to write a section just to explain to everyone something so I don't have to focus on all that crap throughout the story like some shitty mystery novel. Sorry ya'll, I just wanted to get this whole explanation thing out of the way… it's was just such a drag.

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><p>Naruto stared up in surprise at Sasuke whose lips were locked on his in a sloppy awkward kiss. Yeah, Sasuke was special to him, but not that kind of special. (You're so naïve, Naruto! ^_^v) Pushing away from each other, Naruto's face scrunched up as he wiped in saliva off his mouth almost mimicking Sasuke's in the exact same motion. There was a slight pause where both boys looked at each other in disbelief with pink spreading across their cheeks before punches were flying, and walls were being redecorated with holes. A few ninjas peaked out from behind closed doors, the figures were moving down the hall way to fast to see who it was. Shrugging their shoulders, they reassured themselves that whoever they were, they would figure it out… plus they were too tired and overworked.<p>

"Son of a bitch! What was that!"

"You were the one that fell onto me!"

"Well why didn't you move? Are you a ninja or not?"

"You're such an idiot!"

"You haven't changed! You're still a bastard!"

Sasuke stopped his punch an inch from Naruto's face to stare at him. Both of them were on the floor with Sasuke on to, one hand on the floor and one in front of the blonde's face, and Naruto underneath, one hand holding a fistful of shirt, and the other blocking the punch that never made contact. It was an odd statement to yell, after all. Strange, now that he thought about it, he had met every member of the Uzumaki-Namikaze family formally except for Naruto whom he only saw passing in hallways… well at least until now. _There's something wrong with the Hokage's son today._ In any case, Sasuke was in huge trouble. Sasuke mentally berated himself for losing his cool so easily, which could end badly if Uzumaki lived up to the rumors about him.

His eyes furrowing in concern, Naruto tapped Sasuke softly on his hip with one of his bent knees. "You okay?"

"I thought you were too all mighty to even look at me let alone care?" Sasuke said accusingly. "You going to run to daddy and tell him the traitor attacked you?"

Naruto blinked a few times with a lost and clueless look on his face as Sasuke waited expectedly for an answer. Naruto shook his head slowly and carefully pushed away Sasuke's fist which was still an inch away from his face. Naruto at this point in his life, was used to hearing Sasuke talk in such a bitter tone, so it was no surprise to see the usual scowl on the Sasuke's pale face. But the situation and question that Sasuke had just asked was lost on Naruto's end of the conversation. Did Sasuke run off to Orochimaru in this world to? _Wing it Uzumaki wing it and see if you got this right._

"Please, that happened years ago. Even if you are a bastard, which you definitely are, you aren't a traitor in my eyes… as long as you buy me lunch."

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up in disbelief before his eyes started to dart around to check the seemingly empty hallway. _This isn't a test or some trick right?_ Sasuke brushed some dirt off the front of his shirt and picked himself off the floor while he watched Naruto with eyes sharper and keener than a hawk. He really wished he had his Sharingan right about now to check if it was actual Nanami or some other girl who was obsessed with him because the whole situation was a little suspicious. Accidental kiss, a fight with punches that probably couldn't hurt a genin and a nice/concern filled voice…there was something up.

"You're not Nanami in a Henge, are you?"

Naruto's nose wrinkled in dislike as he thought of the bratty girl from before. Shaking his head wildly in protest, Naruto flipped off the floor but didn't bother to fix his even more tussled hair and clothes. Without a second pause, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the hand and dragged him off to Ichiraku's in a fast walk.

Sasuke looked down at their hands before averting his eyes somewhere else. He thought it better not to refuse seeing as this was the Hokage's son, and he had heard that the guy was sometimes as bad as the council. But that was just it… sunny smile, practically bouncing off the walls; it was like his annoying admirer Nanami, but less annoying; less annoying because Naruto wasn't trying to suck his face off and wasn't acting like a spoiled brat. _Yeah I guess that's proof enough. If he was Nanami then he would have ripped my shirt off instead of trying to punch the lights out of me. _Besides the accidental kiss of course, but that was all that it was… an accident.

"Oy! Old man! I came back to actually _eat_ something this time!"

Naruto let go of Sasuke's hand as he plopped down on to one of the stools. The blonde boy watched from the corner of his eyes as Sasuke watched first him and the Teuchi cautiously as if he expected one of them to stab him in the back or poison his food.

"Gotta find out what happened." Naruto muttered under his breath as he smiled widely for Sasuke. Sasuke's frown seemed to deepen even more at that, which made Naruto's smile falter.

"Good so see you again, Naruto… and Sasuke. Double the surprise today; here I thought both of you would avoid this place like the plague."

Naruto cocked his head in curiosity at the comment. "Don't tell me you're running from the blonde gi… Nanami, too?"

Sasuke sighed heavily while balancing two chopsticks on top of each other, and then on his index finger. Weighing the pros and cons of actually expressing his deep dislike for Naruto's sister, he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure spring's made her go into heat or something because she's been trying to jump me at least twice a day."

Sasuke mentally slapped himself for actually saying that out loud. It soundly a lot more reasonable in his head, but seeing as very few people talked to him, his politeness was a bit off center when it wasn't a work related situation. Cringing at what would probably be an angered and offended cry of protest, Sasuke did not expect Naruto to start to laugh hysterically to the point of falling off his chair. "Nanami is a she devil, isn't she?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to make a comment when Teuchi interrupted.

"Oh Naruto! How did you do on the exam?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before holding a scroll up proudly.

"First to finish! It was really fun and apparently I might have set a record or something!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. No he heard that the Hokage's son wasn't that good of a ninja. If anyone was to pass an exam it would be Nanami… which he hated to admit. Sasuke looked at Naruto long and hard, but the boy just continued to hum innocently. No there were too many variables out of place to assume and forget.

"Naruto, can I talk to you outside really quickly?" Sasuke said. "We'll be back before the ramen comes out anyway."

Naruto nodded before bouncing off the chair and following Sasuke out the Ramen stand and into an alley to the left of the establishment. Before Naruto could even make a sound, Sasuke's hand dug into his shirt, and roughly slammed him into the brick wall. Naruto's hands shot up to push Sasuke off of him, but stopped when he saw the look in Sasuke's eyes.

"Who the hell are you? I don't have the time to mess around, so drop the disguise and try to get what you want then!"

"If you're so sure I'm not Naruto then just check with your Sharingan or something! Can't that see through any illusion?" He snapped back. Naruto had been expecting some kind of realization or something like that to roll onto the Uchiha's face, but all he saw was more suspicion. Naruto clapped his mouth shut and cursed. And he was doing so well so far, too.

"See! Everyone knows that my Sharingan was sealed! What village are you from and what do you want?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan. Looking closer, Naruto could see something dark hidden on top of Sasuke's eyes lid, which he saw clearly when the dark haired male blinked. It was in fact a well designed seal that cut off the chakra paths to the eyes.

"Oh well we'll just have to fix that." Sasuke didn't have time to react before two fingers connected softly to his temples, and a burning feeling overlapped his eyes. In seconds the feeling was gone, and he could feel his Sharingan pulsing and whirling for the first time in five years. Naruto drew his fingers away and lazily settled his hands on Sasuke arm which was still clutching the under shirt and half zipped flak jacket. Naruto's eyes followed Sasuke's other hand as it rose up to him eyes and touched them gingerly. The red spinning eyes locked on him, and then roamed up and down his body before vanishing back to black. They were frozen like that for quite a while, or at least that was what it felt like to Naruto for some reason.

"You do realize that if anyone found out about this, we'd get into a lot of trouble."

"It's worth the risk." Naruto said quickly while he unclasped the hand holding him.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke muttered while running a hand through his hair.

"Because one day I'm going to be Hokage, and there's only one person I want to be ANBU captain. Plus I hated seeing you like that… so unlike you… bastard."

Sasuke smirked, a light feeling coming over him for the first time in years. Running through a few hand seals, a fake copy of the sealing tattoo appeared in his eyelids. "You're such an idiot… but thanks. People haven't been too trusting since… then."

Naruto smiled and tackled Sasuke in a half hug, which the young Uchiha easily got out of.

"But there's a catch."

Sasuke's happy mood dropped below zero to hear the bad news while they walked side by side back inside Ichiraku's.

"You have to train… like spar and stuff." Naruto said with a slight blush. Wow that sounded lame. He didn't look at Sasuke waited for the angry refusal. After all, after the Chunin exams, the only thing Sasuke wanted to do with Naruto was beat him into the ground; not practice.

"You… want to train? With me?" Sasuke questioned in disbelief and sat back down. "Well if that's the deal then I think it's not really catch and more of a benefit. You _do know_ that your father will kill you…and then me if he finds out that his son is hanging out with me. I am a _dangerous_ traitor."

Sasuke tried to put on a dodgy look, but the smirk that started to grow back on his face ruined it.

Naruto snapped his chopsticks apart when the ramen was laid out in front of him and slurped up the noodles. Through the side of his mouth Naruto did his best to respond back to Sasuke.

"Well, I figured you weren't that bad if Teuchi doesn't mind you here, huh. It's really not that hard, just some people are… too shinobi now a days."

"This is coming from a boy who wants to be Hokage?"

"Except it how it is or don't. Either way, I'll see you on the training grounds." Naruto said with his second bowl already being devoured. Naruto glanced over towards Sasuke and grinned to himself. This was definitely a reward from someone for saving the world. His best friend was back and apparently not as much of an asshole this time around. In fact, he could feel the happiness swimming through the streets in a way his Konoha never did. There had always been a problem whether it had been war, a demon, someone dying or something lost. But Konoha felt free of all of that, and Naruto felt like he could contently be here. So what if he had to probably relearn most people's names and eighteen years of this village and his life; it was a small sacrifice to the heaven he was given.

"Naruto! There you are! Your father and mother have been looking for you! Wow I couldn't recognize you for a moment there."

Naruto turned around to see a pink head of hair just outside the flaps. It was Sakura of course, but she looked different. She had long hair which was tied back in a ponytail, and sported a green vest with black pants instead of her usual red zip up and such. Her hands were free of gloves, and Naruto couldn't help but guess that this Sakura had never become grandma Tsunade's apprentice. In fact, the very reason Sakura had wanted to be one of the Sannin's protégés was because she felt left behind as a young genin paired with Sasuke and himself. This was confusing… he'd figure it out later.

"Sakura! Wait a moment… I'll be right there!" Wiping the ramen juice off his lips with the back of his hand, he gave Sasuke a small wave. "I'll see you later then."

Naruto ran out and jogged alongside Sakura and disappeared into the crowd. Sasuke vaguely heard the pink haired Chunin ask what he was wearing before just shrugged it off as just a normal conversation starter.

"Sasuke please be careful. I don't want you getting in any more trouble." Teuchi pleaded.

"You worry too much. I'll be fine." Sasuke quipped on his way out.

"I hope so…. I really hope so."

* * *

><p>Naruto was extremely uncomfortable. Sakura kept on sending him that <em>look.<em> It was the one she tried to pull off right before the war when she was going after Sasuke and wanted him to give up on his best friend… that _look._ Cringing slightly, she let the girl hook onto his arm… at least that was what he told himself because she had one hard grip. _She probably still hits hard too._

"So, Naruto! Who were you having lunch with today? I couldn't see the face from my angle."

"No one in particular. He was just another random customer." Naruto nervously chuckled out. He was always a terrible liar, but somehow the pinkette bought it.

"Hey Sakura? You wouldn't happen to have another teacher mentoring you, right?"

Sakura shook her head which accidently made the tip of her long ponytail lash out at his face. "Nope, besides my genin teacher, Miniaba, I've been training all by myself." She giggled and looked at Naruto with the _look. _"Why? Are you volunteering because I think you need more help than I do, and I'd love to teach you all _kinds_ of things!"

Naruto laughed nervously before patting her on top of her head. "That's so nice of you. You're like another sister to me." (Ouch)

Sakura seemed to deflate at the comment, and unhooked her arms around Naruto's left appendage reluctantly. "Well at least you shot me down nicely this time."

She ran off as Naruto tried to sputter out a reply; leaving him to stand in front of the Hokage's office. On past experience, he had never hesitated to barge into the office… not with Sarutobi, not the Tsunade and not when he was Hokage. But standing in front of the door, he hesitated for the first time. Should he walk in calmly and call his 'father' Hokage-sama or should he run in and pounce. So many choices, and if he had a choice he wouldn't do this today; maybe in a week when he learned how things ticked. Taking a deep breath, Naruto reached out for the door, but sensed a shift on the other side. Stepping to the side, he let a yellow blur go crashing past him. Hopping over the body, Naruto sauntered into the office. Inside was his father sitting in a chair behind a large desk, and then his mother who had both her hands on that desk as if she had just slammed them done in frustration.

Kushina looked up to see her son enter when Nanami exited to go hug him as she always greeted him. And strangely the boy who walked through the door was looking a lot like _not_ her son. Her eyes started to sparkle with hope! It had finally come! Naruto jumped out of his old man stage and turned into a total stud who would then get a pretty wife and have many grandchildren!

"Awww little fishcake is all grown up!" But she was still her little boy… "See I told you that without the…" she waved her hands "… you would be just fine."

Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head for the millionth time. "Thanks! Anyway sorry about earlier today! I think I was just stressed and had a little breakdown. Yeah, something like that."

Minato nodded his head in understanding. "Well you have been acting pretty strange the past few weeks anyway. I guess the pressure just piled up this morning. Glad you're fine now, son."

Naruto smiled shakily; the last line affecting him quite a bit. He had longed to hear that phrase spoken to him by his dad, and now that he was actually here it was like a dream come true.

"Oh wait! Mom! Dad! You know I had an exam today, right! Well…"

He was rudely cut off when Nanami stormed in from outside and hopped on his back rather roughly. "It's okay if you didn't pass, little bro! We love you all the same!"

Naruto bucked her off and coughed into his hand. "Actually I passed. In fact, they said I might have set a record." Naruto exclaimed happily. His heart swelled when he saw the proud looks on his mom and dad's faces. They almost looked like this was the happiest day of their lives!

"Oh then we'll have to celebrate! I'll cook a huge meal tonight of whatever you want, honey!"

Nanami stomped her foot down on that. "But mom! You promised you'd cook yakitori tonight!"

Nanami complained with her cheeks puffed out. Naruto lamely wondered if that was how he acted when he was twelve and asking for a mission, but shook it off. He blocked out what his mom and 'sister' were saying in favor of concentrating on his dad, Naruto leaned forward and closer to his dad who was only half paying attention to the females in the room.

"Yo dad? If I said that I wanted to be Hokage, would you teach me all there is to know? You know like show me the ropes and stuff?"

Minato smiled broadly at the question and twirled a writing brush between his long fingers. "Well I would teach you all that I knew, but you've got a lot of competition! Between your sister, Konohamaru, and a few others, you'll have a tough time. Why would you want to be Hokage anyway? The paperwork is an ass whipping, and the council jumps on you for everything." Minato said playfully while roughly his son's hair. _Wow he hasn't let me do that in a long time. I'm liking this change._

Naruto shrugged his shoulders casually and headed towards Nanami. "To protect all my precious people of course!" he yelled while giving his fellow blonde sibling a rough noogie and successfully messing up her hair. She gasped in horror before trying to tackle Naruto, who easily dodged. Naruto just continued to bounce along the walls and snicker at his sister's attempts to catch him. _I wonder if this was how Sasuke felt when he taunted me… I can't believe I just thought that. This world is making me go insane. Oh well._

"Alright guys, enough! Let's head home right now before your father is stopped by the council." Kushina said in a sing song voice while dragging a smiling Minato along with her. Nanami and Naruto were frozen for a second before she pushed him quickly and then ran off after them. Naruto grinned at her sneakily, Naruto felt playful and frog jumped over her to catch up with his mom and dad. It was a weird feeling, but it was something he could get used to. Why fight it anyway?

* * *

><p>Wondering the village with his family and then later that night, Naruto was able to pick up more than a few things about this new world. The differences seemed to all spring from his mother being pregnant with twins and not just him. Then the night that the Kyuubi attacked, the man in the orange mask lost control over the nine tails and was consumed by the power and ended up killing him. The fur ball was still pretty furious about the whole thing so we went on with the rampage but was then sealed away by Sarutobi with Nanami instead of him. And because the Fourth was still alive after, he proclaimed Nanami as the village's savior and the village lived in a healthier peace then in Naruto's world dimension thing. Not so much of a the end though…<p>

It goes without saying that it was a domino effect from there that prevented a lot of bad things from happening or progressing too badly. Konohagakure didn't suffer from the loss of their beloved Fourth Hokage, there were fewer casualties and because the man in the orange mask was gone, Akatsuki was never formed. Or as far as Naruto could find out because there could still be a secret society out there similar to that. Also, Uchiha massacre hadn't occurred either.

The bad things that happened were considerably less than the good which Naruto gave a huge thumbs up to. Though he wasn't sure how to go about fixing things in their condition. Neji's father had been killed, and apparently Neji had nearly killed Hinata at their Chunin exams a few years ago. That left Neji in a sticky spot seeing as Naruto had yet to give the Hyuuga his 'make your own destiny' speech.

The worst that Naruto had found out was that Sasuke had been plucked out of the Uchiha crowd by Orochimaru and seduced by power. Although it was easier to retrieve the black haired youth this time around because Sasuke didn't have the same bloodlust to avenge his family, Sasuke's punishment was beyond severe even with the small bonus. The moment they threw Sasuke back into the village, they were able to destroy Orochimaru's possession markings which was the only plus. The second the boy could lift a finger, they sealed away his Sharingan indefinitely for 'betraying the village' and then his family had half disowned him. He still held the Uchiha name, but had no access to the vaults, and had been living in separate housing for a while now.

How did he learn all of this in five hours? Well apparently when you were the Hokage's son, and suddenly became a stud over night, people seemed to blab about everything… no questions asked.

"It's good being me." Naruto thought as he took another bite of his dinner. His eyes watered a bit though thinking about his first real family dinner. It was so awesome. Asking his dad to pass the huge bowl of Gyudon down, he snatched the last pieces of beef from fight under his sister's nose which made her steam. The girl must have been used to getting her way all the time because Naruto's new attitude was really rubbing her wrong, and the worst part about it was that Naruto was too busy being happy to really notice.

Long after dinner was over, and Nanami had rushed upstairs to get ready for bed, Naruto sat in the living room and secretly spied on his parents in the kitchen. His mom was washing the dishes while Minato was switching between drying them and hugging her from behind. It was really a wonderful sight, and made Naruto all warm inside.

Minato whispered something in Kushina's ear which made her giggle and smack his shoulder with a soapy hand. "Oh we can do that later. I learned a few things about that with Kurenai. She really knows how to teach someone to get really flexible quick if you know what I mean."

Naruto blushed furiously at what he thought his mom was implying and decided it was about time for him to split, but as he was heading up the stairs he heard his name and couldn't help but listen in again.

"… so proud of the both of them. Especially Naruto. I've been worried these past few years that he'd never be happy again but I just… I'm just so happy. _He _looked so happy."

"And he did fantastic on that exam! I got the report back and Naruto really did set a record. He's really applying himself, and I'm so glad. You know he talked to me today about maybe considering Hokage."

"Was that what he was saying about protecting precious people? What is with this family and wanting to be Hokage anyway?" Kushina said as she finished the last of the dishes, and dried her wet hands.

"Who could blame them when both of us wanted to be Hokage before we even graduated from the academy. I love the kid to death you know, but he worries me more than Nanami does… even if she is a jinchūriki. Naruto has this bad habit of attracting trouble and I have this gut feeling…"

"…that something big is going to happen? But I don't think that it's going to be bad. Maybe he'll find a girl and propose so that we can have little grandkids running around!"

"Whoa Kushina! He _is_ eighteen! You weren't pregnant with Nana and Naru until you were twenty five. No need to rush the process and all!"

Naruto heard Kushina huff in frustration before laughing. He heard a rustling of clothes which he assumed was a hug. When the talking was too quiet for him to hear, Naruto tip toed his way upstairs and carefully tried to find his room. When he did, he quietly closed the door behind him and crawled over to his window which had been sloppily fixed. Looking out of it, he watched a few shooting starts pass by and laid his head on the cool window frame.

He could really learn to live like this. He would make stronger bonds with these new people and friends; serve Konoha all the same. He could even be a normal ninja now. Being related to the Hokage was far less of a big deal compared to being the vessel of a demon fox, and Naruto was actually glad that Nanami would be getting all of that attention; even if it was more positive than negative with her like it wasn't with him.

And his mom was right! He could find a girl and settle down! There was nothing stopping him from doing all he had wanted to do…maybe he would request for a genin team too! Thinking that, he felt a slight ache in his heart like the one he felt before he blacked out. Taking a big breath, Naruto held it for a few seconds and then let it out loudly.

"What are you sighing about?"

Jumping slightly, he looked at the person standing at his door before turning back around.

"Hey Nanami? Can I ask you a question?"

Nanami open and closed her mouth in surprise and this new side of her brother and she'd never seen. They'd always been at each other's throats ever since they were little and who could really blame them. Nanami was a strong ninja and the hero of the village, while Naruto would probably end up being a desk ninja. Tossing her long blonde hair behind her, she leaned against the doorframe even more. "What it is, scar face?"

"Who is the 'king' we have to protect?"

"Don't be stupid Naruto. Everyone knows it's the Hokage."

Storming off angrily at not being told something a little more juicier than metaphorical fortune cookie blah, Nanami slammed the door to Naruto's room and left him in the dark.

"Well, as Shikamaru always says, women are troublesome. She'll come around."

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><p>Naruto jumped out of bed the next morning just as the sky was starting to get lighter. Slipping on some clothes that he deemed reasonable, which was hard, Naruto ate a cup of ramen quickly and was out of the house in a flash. Jogging through a very common shinobi training trail, Naruto wondered if he would run into somehow he knew while he took his morning run.<p>

He wasn't disspointed when two green blurs rushed past him in a cloud of dust and sparkles. Picking up the speed, Naruto was surprised with how toned his body was for someone who was apparently a mediocre ninja. Not as good as his 'own' but with some intense training it would be back to sage mode condition in no time! Once he was only a little bit behind the speeding green blobs, Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Lee! Gai! Mind if I join you for a morning run?"

The two looked back in astonishment before giving him a 'good guy' thumbs up and tooth sparkle. "Naruto my youthful companion! It would be an honor for you to join us in the spring time of your youth! Come Lee let us slow down a little for our whiskered friend!"

"No need! Let's get this thing started."

If anyone had been watching from above, they might have thought that Konoha had a green band of a force field zipping around the village faster than the eye could see the bodies making them. Naruto was sweating up a storm by the twentieth lap, which was understandable when you were running fast enough to make tree trunks sway when he ran past them. With a small wave, he dropped out of the 'race' with Gai and Lee who smiled at him quickly and zoomed off as Naruto slowed down.

Easing into a light run and then jog, Naruto snuck into an empty practice field to see what he had going for him at the moment. Taking a short breather, Naruto stretched a little and settled himself in the middle of the empty training grounds.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto was content to see a good amount of clones littering the grounds, but the slight strain was a bit bothersome. Some the old him had the strength to do it, but didn't know how nor tried… well that wasn't so bad. But he'd wait a while before he tried any of his sage stuff.

Dispelling all of the clones but one, Naruto beckoned him over. Both of them working to form a small Rasengan, Naruto didn't notice the dark figure jumping from his perch in a nearby tree and approaching until it was too late.

"Pretty impressive."

Naruto swiveled around to see Sasuke a few behind him with his hands deep in his pockets, and his green flak jacket lazily thrown under a tree.

"A lot of people say that you won't make it past Chunin, but by the looks of it you've got more secrets than a Forbidden Scroll."

Naruto frowned at Sasuke's stiff statue, and on guard appearance. "You still don't trust me."

"Not really."

Naruto tapped his lip in thought before snapping his fingers. "Well, I'm really not supposed to know either of those, and I don't want anyone finding out, so consider that your 'plan two' if things go badly."

Sasuke faltered before sighing. "You're really stupid, you know that."

"Am not!"

Both of them jumped into a light spar with each other through the whole morning. And both didn't say it out loud, but this was the most real fun they'd had in forever. Sasuke blocked another punch, and swung his leg to connect with Naruto's stomach. His mind drifted as they continued this easy routine. A lot of people had been more excepting of him lately, and even his mother and brother were coming around, but Naruto was treating him as if he was a normal shinobi. The blonde idiot had even gone as far as freely giving him blackmail just so that Sasuke would trust him… and it worked. Sasuke just wanted to know why? Was Naruto just as misunderstood and alone in a crowd as he was.

Naruto, sensing his sparring partners distraction, through a particularly hard punch and slammed the older boy into the ground. Both of them were breathing pretty hard, and hadn't noticed that they had been sparring for close to two hours nonstop. Sitting on top of Sasuke, Naruto threw his hands up in triumph.

"And the crowds go wild! Uzumaki has won the championship!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes from under Naruto, but just laid still as Naruto had his fun. Why? Well he didn't know. "Hn… Naruto? Why do you go by Uzumaki? Everyone else in your family goes by Namikaze. Even your mom who _is_ Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't know how to respond to that question and had to think a little before answering. "Well because I like it better than Namikaze. Plus it's more fun when people don't associate you with someone else, and you have the element of surprise on your side when you kick their asses. I _am_ Konoha's number one most surprising ninja…kinda."

Sasuke couldn't help but let a small bark of laughter out at the statement, which made Naruto flush in the face, and press down harder on his stomach. It was relatively quiet after that when Naruto rolled off of Sasuke so that the both of them could catch their breath.

Both of them faced each other on the ground, and for a moment they thought that something had shocked them like static. Sasuke reached out and ran a finger along one of Naruto's possession marks, but stopped mid trail when he realized what he was doing. Both of them jumped up and apart from each other and hurriedly headed back to the village.

"Yeah, that never happened."

"Definitely. I don't even know what you're talking about."

And so stood a two month long cycle of sparring and normalcy before _it_ happened.

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